Tuesday: Welcome back from the long break! We reviewed where we’re at in Esther with a worksheet. In language arts, we finished our mind maps, shared them, and we took a quiz on sentences. In the afternoon, we went over our spelling words (#11-20 on the spelling bee list). We also took a test in Heritage and were given our science fair packets/worked on our question.

Wednesday: In chapel we watched a video on Kidstown (the organization that sponsors Henrietta). During language arts, we viewed a slideshare on plagiarism. In the afternoon, viewed a slideshow introducing China. We also started our log book in science and wrote pros and cons of each idea.

Thursday: This morning we read the reader’s theater on Esther’s Request and started a crossword and personal response on it. In language arts, we worked on how to avoid plagiarizing by summarizing and paraphrasing instead of changing a word here and there from the original source. In the afternoon, we finalized our science fair question and started working on the materials. Then we came up with recipes using ingredients available in Ancient China.

Homework: Spelling test tomorrow, spelling homework due today

Friday: Today we read about the feast of Purim after the Jews were saved from Haman. They have a few interesting traditions, such as dressing up as Esther and Mordecai and booing every time the name Haman is said. Later on we took a spelling test, had reading buddies, and wrote the introduction to science fair. This afternoon, we discussed subject-verb agreement and how it’s more complicated with indefinite pronouns. In Heritage, we read 142 and finished a foldable on Ancient China. During science, we met in groups to decide on a design for our boats.

Wow! It’s already Thursday, and I have not gotten around to updating the site. Here’s a quick rundown of what we’ve been doing: it’s Spiritual Emphasis Week. We’ve had chapel every day to hear about different missionaries’ experiences. It’s been such an inspiring week so far! For academics, we’ve been learning about parts of a sentence in language arts. We’re in a concentrated grammar unit to gear up for writing a research paper for science fair. We’ve gotten to the end of both units in science and Heritage. We will have an exam on energy and heat tomorrow (Friday, Jan. 15). We will have the Heritage exam on Tuesday, Jan. 19th.

Dates:

Jan. 29th is the end of the quarter.

Feb. 12th is the spelling bee

Thursday: This morning we had someone come from Hands of Action International to speak about her time in Uganda. The students enjoyed learning about life for kids in Africa. For language arts, we talked about run-on sentences and the ways we can fix them in our writing. The most challenging part of run-on sentences is figuring out when a sentence is finished. This afternoon, we had an Indian culture day where we sampled naan and plantains. We also practiced some traditional customs, like eating with our right hand and greeting the oldest person in the room. Then we finished the day with a science study game.

Monday: This morning we finished our packets in Bible on Daniel. Students should make sure the packet is filled out (aside from Daniel and the Lions’ Den) and turned in. In language arts, we started a new grammar unit. The students did group work with fragments, run-on sentences, and complete sentences. They finished with a tic-tac-toe game and an exit ticket. This afternoon was spent on our annual geography. Congratulations to the 10 finalist! We will finish the bee tomorrow afternoon. We also discussed science fair. Students should bring in questions they interested in by Friday so we can decide as a class what we’d like to do.

Tuesday: Copy and paste the username and password into the website, then go to students, and click on your name. In the morning we started the book of Esther and learned about 4 types of sentences. We viewed a PowerPoint, created our own sentences, and listened to the song below. In art class, we drew henna designs on paper hands and finished the Geography Bee. Only students from our class placed! Finally, we reviewed science concepts that we haven’t gone over since before Christmas break.

Friday: This morning we read about Haman’s Plot against the Jews in Esther. Then we took a spelling test, had reading buddies, and learned about implied subjects in imperative sentences. This afternoon, we read about Buddha, watched the video below, and completed a workbook page comparing Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity. We also took a closer look at The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path. Then we voted on science fair and determined that we will do a class project on cardboard boats and their buoyancy.

Homework: Heritage workbook page 77 is due Monday

Note: Students received missing reports and should be working on work. The end of the quarter is January 29th (in 3 weeks)